Patience, Courtesy Urged For Black Friday Drivers

Thursday

Black Friday traffic is always busy, but this year, traveling from store to store will be made extra difficult by road and highway construction.

Black Friday traffic is always busy, but this year, traveling from store to store will be made extra difficult by road and highway construction.

"The construction is one lane north and one lane south from Interstate 40 to Interstate 540 at Rogers Avenue," Sgt. Scott Joe of Arkansas State Police said.

Two of the primary hubs of Black Friday shopping in Fort Smith are Central Mall on Rogers Avenue and the Fort Smith Pavilion on Phoenix Avenue, where stores such as Best Buy and Target are located. To go from one location to the other, shoppers likely would travel by interstate, but with the route pared down to one lane because of construction, interstate travel likely is not the most expedient path.

"Try to use alternative routes," Joe said. "Try to stay out of congested areas."

Motorists attempting to merge onto I-540 from Rogers Avenue likely will have to wait for an opening in a steady stream of traffic.

"The interstate will be busy," Joe said. "Just don’t be in a hurry. Be courteous to other drivers and just practice patience — that’s the whole key with that interstate."

"Because of the increased traffic, people are more likely to have to wait, and because of the hurry to get to stores to get to deals and items, they are to become impatient," Milam said. "So they drive more aggressively, which results in higher incidents of accidents. People (can) get hurt because of carelessness."

Injuries can result from crashes between vehicles on the road or shoppers being struck while walking through a parking lot, according to Milam.

"If you’re not pay attention or are in a hurry, you can end up injuring somebody," he said.

One concern on Black Friday is traffic appropriately exiting the Pavilion on Phoenix Avenue.

"There is only one exit (at the Pavilion) that vehicles can turn left out of," Milam said.

People seeking to turn left out of the Pavilion must do so at the exit with the traffic light. Milam said if shoppers attempt to turn left out of the other exits, major traffic problems and potentially accidents can result.

"People who want to turn left, going eastbound on Phoenix must go to the exit with the light. It will make traffic go much smoother," Milam said.

Both Joe and Milam advise Black Friday shoppers to be patient with traffic and not become angry or frustrated.

"Slow down and understand that there is going to be more people out during Black Friday than normal and know that you’re going to be delayed," Milam said. "All of this can reduce collisions."

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